


She Never Cried In Front Of Me

by WildRiverInTheSky



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildRiverInTheSky/pseuds/WildRiverInTheSky
Summary: Darien, constantly picking on Serena, doesn't realize she is crying when he can't see her. Her friends and Andrew jump to her defense and Darien makes an admission. T: Language
Relationships: Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Kudos: 16





	She Never Cried In Front Of Me

Part One

Serena turned her head toward the wall trying to hide her reaction as she stood there in absolute shock with her mouth hanging open and her eyes blown wide. She desperately tried to compose herself and was finally able to get her reaction under control. She then turned her face back towards, whatever her name was, and smiled. She proceeded to lean against Darien and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek while his arm wrapped around her waist.

Darien addressed Serena and said, "Darling, this is Trista from my biology class."

Serena was glad she had put on an outfit that made her look older today. She smiled and said, "Hello, Trista. I'm so glad to meet you."

Trista looked put out, and that caused Serena to suspect she had a crush on Darien. That resulted in an even bigger smile, and she then caressed his arm wrapped around her. Bingo, she thought as she saw Trista's eyes zoom in on her hand.

Darien seemed relaxed when he asked Trista, "So what brings you to the Arcade today? I haven't seen you here before."

Trista tried to rally her courage, "I was wondering if you were going to the picnic the department is throwing. I was hoping you would…."

Darien cut her off and looked at Serena, "You did say your schedule was open that day, right?" Serena nodded. "Fabulous." He then turned to look at Trista, "Yes, I am going. I am sure we will see you there."

Trista gave him a tight smile and muttered, "Great. I have to head off to meet my study group." And then she quickly exited the Arcade.

As soon as Trista was out of sight, Serena skipped over to the counter and then sat on a stool. "Andrew, I would like a burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake." She then pointed back at Darien. "And he is paying for it!"

"Oh, I am?" Darien replied. "What makes you think that?"

"I did you a favor by being your fake girlfriend." She smiled and pretended to simper, "Right, daaarling?"

"Fine, Andrew, put it on my bill with a cup of coffee, regular." Darien laughed and smiled at Serena.

Serena smiled and hopped off the stool, and quickly went over to her usual table to wait for the rest of her friends.

Andrew shook his head as he entered her order. "You do realize she will have to go to the picnic with you if you don't want Trista asking you out, right?"

Darien's face fell. "Shoot, I didn't think of that. Great, what am I going to owe her for that?"

"You could just ask her to be your girlfriend for real, and then you wouldn't owe her anything." Andrew hoped he had caught Darien off guard.

Apparently, he had. Darien replied, "Psht! Like she would go out with me." He paused and realized what he had just said. "What I meant to say was that we would never date each other."

Andrew rolled his eyes and walked off to bring Serena her milkshake and food.

Darien sat watching them as he heard the door open, and someone he didn't recognize walked in. He wouldn't have even registered the arrival if the new guy hadn't seen Serena, smile and then walked over to her.

Andrew walked back over behind the counter, and they both watched the boy seemingly gather up his courage and walk over to Serena. Darien shook his head and gave a small chuckle. He didn't stand a chance of her saying yes.

Darien's eyes then shot open when he saw her nod to the newcomer and write something down and hand it to him. The boy smiled and tucked it in his pocket and exited the Arcade smiling.

"So, Serena, how much did you have to pay him to ask you out on your first date?" Darien asked her, feeling very uncomfortable about what just happened.

Serena rolled her eyes at him and picked up a fry and ate it. "Hardly a first date in any way. I have dated before, and this wouldn't be the first time I went on with him." She then picked up another fry, smiled, and then ate it.

Darien faltered in his reaction. "You have gotten some poor guy to go out with you? Yikes, what is the world coming to?"

She chuckled and shook her head, "You realize you should be nice to me. I still haven't actually agreed to go to that picnic with you yet, and Trista has shown so much determination to get you to go out with her that she tracked you down here. How funny will it be when she realizes you don't have a girlfriend and she knows this is your favorite hangout. I can just picture it now." She said dramatically, "You sneaking around and dodging her every time you want a cup of coffee or want to visit your best friend." She shook her head in mock pity. "I will be able to stop spending my money on Sailor V games. I will be able to enjoy the free show."

"I would still have it better than that poor guy that you suckered to date you," he snarked at her.

Andrew shook his head, and Darien went back to his coffee.

Serena quickly finished her food and shake and then picked up her school bag. "Andrew, when the girls show up, please let them know I forgot I had to run an errand for my mom. I will catch them later." She made her way to the door and yelled, "Bye!"

Andrew wanted to hit Darien, "You are an as; you do know that, right?"

Serena quickly walked away from the Arcade and turned the corner, and looked behind her. She didn't see anyone she recognized. She then darted into an alley and hid behind a dumpster as tears started to fall. She hoped Darien didn't ask her friends about Bobby; they wouldn't know the story she made up. She tried to calm herself, but the tears kept falling.

Once she finally managed to calm down and collect herself, she pulled out her compact. She swiped some powder around her eyes to hide her crying. She then noticed her eyes were still puffy, so she pulled out her sunglasses and put them on. It wasn't quite sunny enough out for them; however, they would work to hide that she had been crying.

She looked around and made her way back onto the sidewalk, and headed towards the park. She wanted to relax and take it easy before she ran into anyone. She heard her text notifications and looked at her cellphone. She read it and replied that, yes, she could meet Bobby and the others to work on their group project Saturday.

Part Two

Mina arrived first at the Arcade, waved hello to Andrew, and started to walk back to their usual table. Andrew paused his conversation with Darien to let Mina know that Serena had left to run an errand for her mother. She narrowed her eyes and then turned to face Andrew and Darien.

"So, how are things here? Serena must be busy." She hoped they couldn't tell she was fishing for information. She knew Serna had lied to them, and she was worried for her.

"She can't be that busy; she somehow managed to avoid getting detention today, so that has to free up her schedule," Darien said.

Mina just looked at Andrew and stated, "So Darien was a jerk again to Serena?"

Darien tried to object, but Andrew just talked right over him. "Yup." Andrew nodded and wiped down the counter. "Darien was a jerk to her about the guy Serena has a date with."

Mina kept her reaction neutral, "What did he look like?" Andrew proceeded to describe him, and Mina nodded and said, "Oh, Bobby. There are so many guys who like her I wasn't sure which you were talking about." She hoped she seemed calm in her pronouncement.

She knew two things they didn't right now. The first being that Bobby wasn't her date, and the second being that Serena's parents were out of town and didn't leave her with any chores.

Andrew stopped and looked curiously at Mina, and she was clued into the fact that he knew something was up. He was around people so much he was good at detecting small social cues. She hoped he wouldn't let on that something was wrong.

She could see him reach a decision, and he began telling her about the whole conversation between Darien and Serena. He started with Darien pretending he was dating Serena when Trista came in, his cutting comments about Bobby dating her, and then remembering she had an errand to run.

Mina closed her eyes and sighed, poor Serena.

"You are such an asshole, Darien!" They all spun to look and wondered how they missed Raye coming in.

Raye noticed Mina looked panicked, and Raye gave her a slight nod. "I heard what you said to her. She is one of the kindest people in the world, and you just constantly tear her down! I sure don't understand why she even still acknowledges you!"

Raye yanked out her phone and texted Mina as she spun around and marched out of the Arcade.

Mina looked at her text message, and it read. "Will keep Amy and Lita from coming in. I set him up now you knock him down."

Mina put her phone back in her pocket while she quickly tried to formulate what she would say.

Andrew had decided to come to her rescue, and he said, "She isn't wrong, Darien. You are mean to one of the sweetest girls I know."

"It is just the way we are. I don't know what the problem is." Darien replied defensively.

Mina rolled her eyes dramatically, "You always start these things with her. She just fights back. I don't know if you get your rocks off hurting her or if you are just indifferent to it all."

Darien looked affronted, "I don't hurt her! As I said, it's just the way we are."

"No," Mina insisted. "It is the way you are, and she doesn't just lay down and take it. You are just cruel to her so much of the time!"

"Call her and ask her about what happened earlier. She'll tell you I was just joking around." Darien insisted and motioned for her to call.

Mina rolled her eyes and called Serena. The minute she heard Serena answer, she was pissed, and it showed in her face.

Andrew said, "What?"

Mina shook her head at him, indicating he needed to be quiet, and said, "Where are you right now? I will be there soon and bring the girls." …. "Okay. I am on my way!" She then hung up the phone and glared at Darien.

Andrew repeated himself and said, "What? What is it?"

"You little rat bastard!" She yelled at Darien. "She is crying again. Man, I hate it every time you talk to her lately. It ends up being Raye, Amy, Lita, and me who are left wanting to kick your stupid ass for making her cry, and Serena always asks that we forgive you. Well, not anymore." She pointed at Darien, "You stay away from her and don't talk to her again. If you do, I will send Raye and Lita after you."

Mina turned and placed a group call on her phone, "Girls, Serena is at the park, and she needs us. Meet me there are soon as you can." She paused in her conversation and said, "Got it in one. Yes, it was Darien again." She then walked out of the Arcade door.

Darien paled and looked at Andrew and said, "I never mean it. We just joke around." He put his elbows on the counter and placed his head in his hands, and his shoulders slumped. "She knows that right?" he said weakly.

Andrew shook his head and said, "I tried to tell you that you were an ass, but you never listen."

Serena sat in the park with the girls all around her and trying to hold back tears. She sniffed and said, "He pretended I was his girlfriend and was really sweet to me. He even called me darling. As soon as she left, he was back to being mean and wondering why any guy would want to date me." She sighed, "Why do I keep doing this to myself? I need to just get over him and actually go on a date. Do you think a guy would go with me?"

Raye scoffed, "Darien is an idiot. I promise you that at least two guys a week from my school want me to introduce them to you." She looked around and got a huge smile. She pointed and said, "See that cute guy over by the benches?" Serena nodded. "That is Mark. He asked me just last week if you were seeing anyone. I could introduce you right now, and he would ask you out."

Serena gave her a small smile, "Thanks. I just don't know if saying yes to a date is fair to a guy if I am trying to get over someone else."

Mina scoffed, "He would get to go on a date with you. He should just feel lucky."

"I will think about it." Serena tried to appease them.

Darien was sure he was about to lose his best friend; Andrew was mad, and he didn't know how to fix it. "I didn't know I was making her cry."

"I told you that you were mean! You should have listened to me instead of assuring me of how stupid I am for implying that you like her." Andrew said.

"I do like her! I am freaking crazy about that girl, and I am terrified to tell her! No way will she ever say yes." Darien was at his wit's end.

Andrew shook his head, "So, you like a girl, and you make her cry and think you hate her. Are you five!? You make me look like Casanova, and that is hard."

"She never cried in front of me!" Darien insisted.

Molly walked in and shook her head, "Serena?"

"You heard that?" Darien asked.

"I just heard the part about making her cry. I can only think of one girl who fits that bill unless you are telling me there are others."

"Wait, you have seen her cry too?"

"Oh, yea. Remember yesterday when you implied that she was fat and childish?" He nodded. "She cried for quite a while after that." She sighed, "It made her feel even more childish, and she was relieved you never noticed because she knew you would have pointed it out."

"She never acts like it bothers her."

"Like she actually wants you to see her crying. Don't be ridiculous." She looked at Andrew. "Coffee to go, please."

Daren said, "I never ever wanted to make her cry."

"Well, actions have consequences," she snapped at him. She went to leave the Arcade and turned to get one last parting shot. "If you hate her, just leave her alone. She deserves more than to be the one you tear down to enable you to feel better about yourself." She then walked through the door.

Andrew looked at Darien, "You deserved that."

Later that evening, Darien was pacing his apartment and muttering under his breath. He knew it was never his intention to make her cry. If he were putting her through hell, he couldn't tell. He pictured her crying and just about lost it. As he paced, he tried to identify the ache he felt in his chest when he imagined her tears falling.

That night while he was sleeping, he had a dream of Serena, and she was stunning. She stood at the end of a long aisle with flower petals floating down all around her and the sun shining, illuminating her golden hair. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and beckoning someone to her. Tears of joy were falling down her face, and he took a step towards her. His heart soared as he took another step and began to draw close to her. All of a sudden, a man he couldn't identify stepped in front of him and reached out to Serena. She rushed into the other man's arms while he caressed her face and kissed her tears away.

Darien woke up in a rush and sat up. He stood and went to his bathroom to get a glass of water, and when he looked in the mirror, he realized he looked awful. He determined then and there he would make this better. Next time he made her cry, they would be the good kind, the kind she would let him see and be brought on by happiness.

Part Three

Serena sat alone in the park, staring out at the lake and fiddling with the hem of her skirt. She had told the others that they should go ahead and go to the Arcade and that she just wanted some time alone. It was true, she did want time alone, but the real reason was she couldn't face Darien.

It killed her that he could go from being sweet and flirty to cruel and dismissive. Yes, she knew he was just trying to get that other woman to leave him alone, but it still hurt. She sighed. He would never really see her. Not the part of her that was a woman and half in love with him already.

She closed her eyes, and her hands stilled, and she took a deep breath, held it, and then let it go. She determined that now was the time. Now was time to let go finally. Her life shouldn't be run by his moods and his words anymore. She stood and texted the girls that she was heading over to the Arcade. She took one step forward and decided that she would work on letting go, even if it happened slowly.

She made her way to the front door of the Arcade and took another deep breath before she stepped through the doors and waived at Andrew. She almost faltered when she saw Darien sitting there looking gorgeous as always. She mentally berated herself and turned to walk over to the girls.

"Hello Serena," Darien said, and her steps faltered.

She paused, looked at him, and said, "Darien, hi." She then took another step away from him.

"How was school?" he pressed.

She sighed and turned towards him, "Fine. I managed to be on time again today, so you can't pick on me for it. Oh! I tripped and scraped my knee. See?" She pointed at her right knee and the angry red mark and bandage that was there. "Mission accomplished; you have something to pick on me about. You can stop looking for a fault in me. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go join my friends." She turned her back towards him, and she took another step.

"I wasn't looking for something to pick on."

She stopped, turned, and then scoffed at him, "So what makes today so different? Oh, wait! I know! You need to use me to scare away another girl that is after you. Or, you need me to go to that dumb picnic to keep Trista from asking you out again. Whatever game you are playing today, I am not interested. I am done. I am so over you pointing out all of my flaws. I am not good enough. I get it! The worst part is that you are right!" She had worked herself up, and a tear had made its way down her face. "I haven't ever had a date. I lied yesterday. And you were wrong about Bobby; he was making a plan with me to meet up for our group project." Tears started making their way down her face, and she swiped at them in an attempt to hide them, but she didn't turn away. "Yup. Stupid, lazy, dateless Serena! Hey everyone, look at me! I am not good enough! Oh, wait. They already know that because you announce it daily!" She spun and turned to walk out the door.

Darien slammed his fist on the counter and made a loud, frustrated noise. "Dammit, woman! You always have everyone's attention. You are the center of every group you are ever in. How the hell am I supposed to draw your attention?!" He stood and stalked towards her while she stood frozen with her back towards him. "Look at me!" She turned to face him. "No, I mean really, look at me. See me! See the orphan who has no only cares for two people. See the man who desperately wants you to pay attention to him. Other than you and Andrew, the whole world can go to hell for all I care. How is the loner who hates people going to get the attention of the woman who loves everyone? Well, love me! Love me because I love you when I am the kind of man that doesn't love anything. Yes, I pick on you, but I don't know how else to get you to pay attention to me!" He took a series of deep, panting breaths. He had spoken from deep within him and spilled out his whole heart and laid his insecurities bare.

Serena blinked twice and didn't even pause to think about her actions. She had taken one tentative step towards him, and then she rushed forward and threw herself in his arms.

The shock had him freezing for a moment, and then he was kissing her. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened their kiss, and his whole body ignited.

When he pulled back from the kiss, he stared into her eyes and said, "Please, be my girlfriend. Please. I need you in my life, and I am in love with you. You are everything to me." He paused and gave her a peck on the lips. "From now on, I think I will just kiss you to get your attention."

Serena smiled and said, "That is a much better way to get it. You should have tried that a long time ago." She kissed him. "Yup. That is so much better." She then chuckled, "I guess I am going to that picnic after all."

"We will be going everywhere together if I have any say in it."

Raye shouted, "Darn Serena, and I was just about to fix you up with one of my classmates!" She then gave a sly look to Mina.

"Like hell, you will!" Darien yelled. "I am not letting go of the woman I adore."

Serena smiled. "You do realize that you told me you love me, right?"

"Yes, I do, and it is true," Darien admitted.

"Well, that is good because I love you too." A single happy tear slid down her face as she stared up into his eyes.


End file.
